Art Paper
Art papers are acid free papers made with Alpha Cellulous or cotton, although cotton papers can also be referred to as fine art papers. Art papers are also alkaline buffered to prevent atmospheric contaminants from acidifying and attacking the paper. Textures vary from smooth to very textured, as is a watercolor paper.
Alpha Cellulous Paper
A paper made with wood pulp that has been chemically processed to remove the lignins and pulp from the paper, leaving only the cellulous. The process also makes the paper acid free.
Barrier Paper
Barrier papers have a protective coating that keeps the ink from seeping into the paper fibers. This allow for higher optical densities. The most common barrier papers are RC papers.
Bright White
A Bright White paper is a paper in which Optical Brightening Agents have been added to increase the whiteness of the paper. Other terms used to describe OBA papers include: “Enhanced”, “Photo” and “Photo Grade”. All optical brighteners fail with time, so a Bright White paper has the most appeal before exposure to light, and will eventually revert to its natural color. Displaying a bright white paper under UV glass also looses its whiteness as the UV cannot fire the OBA’s.
Bronzing
A phenomenon where the ink reflects a bronze color. Usually found with black inks in high density area. It is an indication that the paper/ink combination is not compatible.
Buffering
A buffered paper has an alkaline added during manufacturing that reacts with any acid the paper may encounter. Cotton papers are usually buffered with about 2% Calcium Carbonate, while Alpha Cellulous papers are usually buffered at 6%.
Cotton Rag
A paper made from cotton. Cotton fiber is 10 times stronger than wood fiber, and is naturally acid free and lignin free. No harsh chemicals are needed process cotton pulp to make it archival. Cotton is so durable, all paper currencies in the world are made from cotton paper, as are the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
Curing
This is the process of drying out the co-solvents found in ink jet inks. Since the co-solvents used today have a high boiling point, evaporation takes longer than the water portion of the inks. To accelerate the evaporation process, the print should be covered with a piece of paper for 24 hours before framing. If the print has many high density area’s, then this procedure should be repeated for another 24 hours.
Fine Art Paper
Fine Art Papers are papers made from 100% cotton. Cotton papers are naturally acid and lignin free. Fine Art papers are also buffered with Calcium Carbonate in order to protect the paper from atmospheric contaminants.
Gloss Differential
This is the effect of pigment inks reflecting a different gloss than the paper base. The glossier the paper, the more it shows. Using PremierArt Print Shield on the paper will eliminate gloss differential.
Instant Dry
A term used to describe micropore coated ink jet papers. Although dry to the touch, it takes about 15 minutes to fully dry the print. Barrier papers like RC papers still need to be cured if they are to be coated or framed under glass.
Micropore
A type of ink jet receiver layer that resembles a sponge. Made of millions of micro “Pores”, the ink fills the pores and creates an image. These papers are usually water resistant and instant dry. They are more susceptible to atmospheric contaminants such as ozone, and should be sealed if long life is desirable.
Mould Made
A mould made paper is from a machine that lets the fibers settle randomly before being processed and dried through the paper machine. This random process reduces the “machine direction” stability issue found with modern Fournier paper machines, and is closer to a man made product in look and feel.
Museum Grade
A Museum Grade fine art paper that has no OBA’s. This paper will have the longest stability since it is made from cotton and no OBA’s are used to temporarily whiten the paper.
OBA’s
Optical Brightening Agents are chemicals added to papers and fabrics that increase the optical whiteness, or brightness of the paper. As UV light hits the OBA’s electrons are released, causing a whiter appearance. Eventually the electrons become exhausted, and the paper reverts to its natural color.
Outgassing
Also known as ghosting. This is a phenomenon where the co-solvents in the ink take longer to evaporate than the water in the ink. Ink jet prints are usually dry to the touch in 15 minutes, but the co-solvents will take days to weeks to evaporate. It is most noticeable when barrier paper is framed under glass without proper curing, and a ghost image appears on the inside of the glass. The glass can be cleaned.
Photo Grade
Photo Grade paper is an art paper or fine art paper that has OBA’s. Photo grade papers can also be used to reference RC photo papers
Rag
See Cotton paper
RC Paper
Traditional silver halide color paper is on a Resin Coated (RC) base. The resin, usually made of polyethylene, was needed to waterproof the paper as it was processed through wet chemical baths. Ink jet photo papers use the same base, but the advantage of RC papers for ink jet is the ink will not penetrate the RC layer. Since the ink does not wick into the paper base, the inks stay on top and have a higher optical density than matte papers.
Swellable
An ink jet receiver coating that swells when the ink makes contact. These papers are not water resistant, and will run on water contact. They are more resistant to ozone, but the trade off with water resistance makes this technology inferior to the micropore coatings.
Water Fastness
This is a term for micropore papers where incidental water contact of the print will not run the ink. It does NOT mean the paper is waterproof, and is not meant to be used in wet locations.